TAC Board: The Alaska Club Blog

Let’s be real. Winter is hard in Alaska. It may pose opportunities to do sports outside that we otherwise would not do such as skating, hockey, snowboarding, skiing, cross country skiing, skate skiing, but it is still hard. The ice, the cold, the darkness, the sense of being boxed in-otherwise known as cabin fever, the feeling of isolation all means we need to try harder to do what we need to do to stay happy and healthy.

I’ve been a member of the Alaska Club for decades beginning in the late-80s, early-90s. At first I was gung-ho doing step classes and lifting weights at The Alaska Club East (In fact, at 35 I was rock solid, happy and very fit). As I was approaching 60, I made the commitment to myself to get in shape, rather than aging. I saw people much older than me who continued to workout and looked great. I decided I would get myself back on track.

We’ve all heard how big Alaska is. The jokes about Texas and the lower 48 are pretty well versed by every proud 49th state resident. The mountains are big. The rivers are big. The king salmon, the moose, the grizzly and polar bears… yep, you know it. Large and in charge.

Given up on your resolutions? We may be just a little stymied from our past habits of making unrealistic new year’s resolutions. This is especially true of making new year’s resolutions regarding our health. And the reality of permanent change in health behavior is much different than what we envision it to be. Let’s think about some of these unrealistic expectations which potentially sabotage us, thus preventing us from becoming the kind of health-oriented people we want to be.

The termination dust has settled, cruelly taunting that winter is indeed coming. The upcoming winter season offers little light, which can result in vitamin D deficiencies, which can be so severe at times, many develop seasonal affective disorder. The acronym appropriately spells out SAD. Symptoms of SAD can include anxiety, sleep deprivation and depression.

The trees are shedding their gold and the snow is gradually creeping down the mountains. Alaskans are observing animals everywhere kicking into high gear as they ready themselves for a long winter and for the last autumnal rites of mating. People are posting on social media sites of bears foraging in neighborhoods, on heavily frequented trails and simply ambling down roads. Moose are precariously grazing on the Northern Lights Boulevard median, besides the Glenn and Minnesota Boulevard and literally everywhere besides someplace safe. My maternal instinct wants me to urge them away, but with my luck, I’d unwittingly influence them to run into traffic. The Parks Service continues to knock out the valiant efforts of the beavers’ damming projects at University Lake, only to see the dams rebuilt in a few days. All the critters know it’s coming. They’re getting ready.